The Houston Rockets will be the team to watch next season and that puts their new center Dwight Howard in the ultimate pressure cooker. He has a lot to prove and a lot of critics to prove wrong. Is he up to the task? That remains to be seen but in sports “winning” is the cure-all for any athlete.

Howard doesn’t necessary have to win a championship right off the bat but he does have to become that dominant bigman that people have been expecting for years. So what are the things he has to improve on the most?

3)Staying on the Court

Howard is notorious for picking up silly fouls and gluing himself early in the game to the bench. A player can’t improve on statistics and help their team win if their battling foul trouble game in and game out.

His clumsiness on the offensive end is leading to sloppy offensive fouls. If he learns not to try and force the issue then he will be available to his team more often.

2)Overall Attitude

It’s time for Howard to become a quieter figure on and off the court. It would fit him best to shy away from media when possible and focus more on the game. Howard will garner enough unwanted attention regardless, so there will be no need to add gasoline to the media’s flame. Humility in media sessions would go a long way in helping to preserve his focus.

Howard has been one of the league leaders in technical fouls—that has to change. It is time for him to let the referees call the game. He needs to be more of leader and stop blaming outside forces for his team’s woes. New found maturity is something people will expect to see out of Howard, some type of positive growth.

1)Footwork around the basket

Howard’s offense has always been lackluster but not for the reasons most think. It has little to do with aggressiveness or having an overall desire to win. It has to do with footwork, whether or not Howard put himself in better positions to score on a nightly basis. Howard needs to learn how to create space between him and his defender so he can move more effectively. It is only so many easy baskets available during a game; he has to earn his baskets.

Depending too much on athleticism has also been hurting his game, because a post player has to be crafty. Versatility to his game would also keep the defenses of opposing teams guessing. Improving on his free throw shooting would be an offensive boost as well, something that would radically change his game.